


Who Walks a Cat Anyways?

by Wrenalynn



Series: Bounce A Coin Bingo Prompts [3]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bounce a Coin Off Your Witcher Discord's Bingo, First Meeting, Geralt secretly encouraged it, M/M, Pet Shenanigans, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:41:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26506120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wrenalynn/pseuds/Wrenalynn
Summary: I mean, really?
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Bounce A Coin Bingo Prompts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1906336
Comments: 5
Kudos: 91
Collections: Bounce A Coin Bingo





	Who Walks a Cat Anyways?

**Author's Note:**

> Ridiculous one-shot for my next Bounce a Coin bingo prompt... Pet Shenanigans.
> 
> Enjoy ;)

~~

Jaskier had managed to pinpoint the absolute best time of day to take a walk with his darling Peony. It was at precisely 11:30 in the morning. The morning chill had burned off, but the heat of the afternoon had yet to set in. Most people walking their dogs had already come and gone and the paths were sparsely populated, mostly with joggers.

This left the paths nearly empty for them to stroll sedately down the path that ran along the river behind his house. Peony struts happily in front of him, her fluffy tail moving side to side as she goes. Jaskier hums a soft tune as they go.

Not only is this the best time for taking these lovely walks, but Jaskier also finds the way the sun’s rays shift in early fall alters the world just a little bit towards the magical. The blackberry bushes along the path have nearly lost all their berries by this point. Picked clean by the local wildlife and other pedestrians. Jaskier can also pretend he’s in another world, in a soft forest full of magic. Peony is content to keep a sedate pace, the leash just slack enough in his hands. The world moves slow and soft for them both.

A student on a bike zips by on the other side of the path, startling them both. 

“Ring a bell or something!!” He calls after the cyclist, more to soothe his own self than to really affect any change. 

Thus startled out of his reverie, he notices faint figures ahead and heading in his direction. He squints but can’t make out what sort of dog the other person is leading. Shoot. This could end poorly. He halts and looks down at Peony.

“I think it’s time to head back the other way, girl. Keep just ahead enough of the dog and maybe he won’t catch wind of you, hmm?”

Peony made a chirping noise back at him and followed his gentle tugs to turn them back the way they had come. It was very  _ very _ important that they did not involve themselves with any walking dogs as Peony was one of their favorite things to terrorize.

You see… Peony was not the typical animal you see out on a stroll. No, she was a graceful, roughly 14 pound, calico colored Maine Coot cat. And while she was very firmly under Jaskier’s control in her little purple harness hooked to the leash wrapped around his wrist… the same could not be said about some of the dogs that were out and about. 

About ten minutes later, Jaskier had realized he had made a fatal error. When he had spotted the other walker and about-faced… he had not clued in on the fact that the other person had been power-walking already, legs striding long and quick. The other person and their pet were getting much closer. 

So close, in fact, that the dog had caught wind of the fact that there was an extremely fluffy and colorful cat within bounding distance. 

He heard a faint, very male, voice yell “Whoah! Roach! Slow down!” before Peony also sensed the incoming danger and fluffed herself to twice her size and tried to yank Jaskier off into the rather pointy blackberry bushes. 

“Peony! Stop that!” He planted his heels and took hold of the leash with both hands, causing her to then panic and dart in every direction she could think of that the dog may not be. 

Very suddenly there was the snout of a large rottweiler by his hip. He had enough time for his heart rate to skyrocket, not quite enough to make any sort of noise, before Peony managed to get enough strength in her pull to spin him in the other direction from the dog. 

Sadly, the dog’s leash was not a terribly long one and it was brushing past his knees now, catching him as he spun… directly into the chest of the dog’s owner. Peony chose to wrap her own leash around the other man’s calves as she attempted to evade.

This ended in Jaskier being bound by leashes chest to chest with the most gorgeous man he ever laid eyes on as his cat scaled him like a tree and clung to his shoulder, hissing down at the dog who had wedged its side against Jaskier’s thighs, shoving him even closer to the stranger. They barely avoided smashing their heads together. 

“What the fuck?” The other man growled, amber eyes darting angrily from his dog to the foreign cat perched on him and digging her angry little claws into him. “Roach! SIT!”

The rottweiler plunked his little butt down and whined. 

Jaskier tried to remember how to breathe as he wiggled against the other man to get a hand free, reaching for Peony. “I… I… I’m so s-sorry.” He managed as he got enough of his arm range back to firmly take hold of his cat, gently removing him from the man’s shoulder to wrap in his arms. He hooks a thumb under the harness to keep a good grip and undoes the leash clasp, letting it fall away and remove one half of the problem. 

The man’s angry gaze jerked up to meet Jaskier’s and narrowed briefly. The angry drawing his brows together seemed to ease some. “Ah… same. Thought I had a grip on her.” He maneuvered the other leash away and took a step back. “I wasn’t expecting her to bolt.”

Jaskier smiled softly and readjusted his grip on Peony. “No harm, no foul. At least, I think no harm? Is your shoulder alright?” He gazed with some worry at the other man’s shoulder. The cat’s claws could cause some damage.

The other man looks confused for a moment and then dropped his gaze to his shoulder. His silver-gray hair fell away and it was clear the thin fabric of his t-shirt had not saved him entirely. “Oh… I suppose I might have gotten a minor scratch. It’s fine.” He pushed back the shirt from his shoulder, baring some of his collarbone and the entire side of his neck. Jaskier swallowed heavily and tried to keep his focus on the skin of his shoulder. 

There were several light red scratches adorning his skin. “Ah… she got you.”

“It’s nothing.”

“In the grand scheme of wounds or injuries, you are correct. However, cat scratches are prone to itch excessively if not cleaned properly and right away.” His hand itched to reach out and touch. Instead, he kept his fingers firmly in Peony’s fur and forced his eyes back up to the other man’s. “My house is at the next turn on, just at the next hedge. You can give it a quick rinse and be done with them in one day instead of four.”

The other man eyed him thoughtfully for a few moments, making a contemplative Hmm noise. His gaze moved from Jaskier down to his dog, Roach, and back up again. Jaskier could practically hear the gears turning, he was thinking so loud, before the other man offered him a soft smile and a nod. 

“Splendid! Ah… that is…” He cleared his throat and risked loosening his hold to offer a hand out to the man. “My name is Jaskier.”

The other man took it and shook it once, letting his touch linger for a moment before dropping it. 

“Geralt.”

Jaskier beamed at him and moved slightly away, gesturing down the path. “Well then, Geralt. This way.”

Geralt brought Roach to heel and followed the other man home, watching his hips as he walked out of the corner of his eye. The man talked as he walked, gaze focused away, and Geralt took the opportunity to give Roach a little conspiratorial pat on her head. 

Good dog.

**Author's Note:**

> The setting may not make much sense to many people, but I styled it exactly off the walking/biking paths that ran through the little town I went to university in.  
> A river/creek thing ran right through the middle of town. On either side of it were fully paved bike paths absolutely lined in thick blackberry bushes. I would eat so many on my walks to and from class, lol.
> 
> Anyways!
> 
> As with the last two, there will be more along with other pairings ;)


End file.
